Reading the Old Testament this week I am reminded there are good and bad sacrifices in God's mind. That said, I wonder if we still bring the wrong kind of sacrifice to God thinking we are doing the right thing.
It all started with Cain bringing a sacrifice that wasn't what God asked for and continued on through the history of Israel. One intriguing story concerns Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli, taking and eating meat that was meant for sacrifice from the people of Israel. The meat was rightfully theirs as they were priest like their father. However, they were taking it with the fat still on it and before it could be boiled. Now, we all see the health implications of eating too much fat and none of us really wants to eat boiled meat when it could be grilled, but, these two sons of Eli were not concerned with anything outside of feeding their own appetites. They were so absorbed with themselves they disobeyed the regulations of God for preparing meat period; not to mention meat that was to be sacrificed to Him. The regulations of Moses dealt with discarding the blood, bowels, hooves and other non-eatable pieces outside the camp or city. Only properly prepared parts of the animal were to be brought into the Holy of holies and given to God.
I wonder how many times we bring the fat and blood to God in place of the good stuff. Do we bring him our sin as an offering and ask him to be happy with that? Have we forgotten that God wants the best of the best from us? What we should be sacrificing to Him is our happy families, our satisfying jobs, our healthy bodies, our stable finances, and our fulfilling churches. The next time you want to bring God something and lay it at the altar, make sure it has value. Giving a sacrifice implies we are relinquishing the rights to important properties or people. God doesn't take pleasure in us bringing Him things that belong outside the camp. Leave the guts and the eyeballs where they belong and offer God your best!
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